Humate is an highly compressed prehistoric compost that can be mined from deposits in the ground. Humate is composed of mainly humic acid, carbon, and some organic matter. A specific humate, also called Menefee Humate.TM., has a sand and diatomaceous earth base rather than a clay base found in leonardite. The Menefee Humate.TM. is mined in the area around the Menefee Geological Formation in Northwestern New Mexico by Menefee Mining Corporation of Dallas, Tex. The Menefee Humate.TM. is a freshwater humate consisting of decomposition of tropical prehistoric plant and animal material. In contrast, other humates are saltwater humates originated from ancient peat bogs.
Humate has been commercially used as a turf and agricultural fertilizer additive. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,544,296 issued to Karcher teaches a method for making a soil nutrient from leonardite, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,416 issued to Alexander teaches a liquid crop stimulant using humic acid and either calcium phosphate or ascorbic acid. Additionally, certain mineral and clay compositions have been used as an animal feed supplement. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,950,546 issued to Hill et al. teaches a mixture of clay having aluminum silicate and sodium bentonite in combination with minerals for spreading on farrow house floors. U.S. Pat. No. 2,926,085 issued to Geerlings suggests mixing mineral salts with humus and colloidal clay as a anemia preventative for newborn pigs.
Peat is also known in the art as an ingredient for soil preparation and animal feed. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,380,551 and 4,322,443 issued to Frontczak teach a method for preparing a foodstuff for human and animal consumption by sowing seeds in peat, and then recovering the germinated seeds and the peat as the foodstuff. Another patent, U.S. Pat. No. 2,178,051, is directed to a method of treating peat for the purpose of drying it quickly so as to make it suitable as a manure or fertilizer or as an ingredient for animal feed.